Wall mounted washing machine and device for opening and closing door thereof

ABSTRACT

A wall mounted washing machine and its door opening and closing device are provided to maximize the user&#39;s convenience in opening and closing a door. The wall mounted washing machine includes a tub disposed in a cabinet to store wash water; a front panel installed in the tub; a cover installed in the front panel and provided with a door hinge; 
     a door rotatably coupled to the door hinge; and a door opening and closing device to lock and unlock the door and the cover. The door opening and closing device includes: a door hanging unit provided on the door and protruding toward the cover; a door locking unit provided on the cover to lock the door hanging unit and release the locking of the door hanging unit through the operation by a door opening button by means of an electronic opening and closing method.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

The present disclosure claims benefit to Korean Patent Application No.10-2017-0074641, filed on, Jun. 14, 2017, by inventor Jeong Hyeon Gim,which application is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a wall mounted washing machine and a devicefor opening and closing a door thereof.

BACKGROUND

A washing machine is a device for separating contaminants from washedfabric (laundry) using wash water and detergent, wherein thecontaminants may be separated from the washed fabric by the chemicalaction of the detergent dissolved in the wash water and the mechanicalaction of the wash water and an inner basket. Such washing machines maybe categorized into a top loading type washing machine, a front loadingtype washing machine, and a combined type washing machine combined withthe top loading type and the front loading type, depending on the methodof loading the laundry.

In recent years, wall mounted washing machines have been introduced,which may be installed in narrow spaces such as bathrooms and toilets.In general, the wall mounted washing machines employ the front loadingtype for better miniaturization.

For example, the wall mounted washing machine may include a cabinet thatforms an exterior, a tub provided in the cabinet filled with wash water,a drum rotatably installed in the tub and accommodating the laundry, adrive unit providing power to the drum, a water supply unit forsupplying the wash water to the tub, and a drain unit for dischargingthe wash water from the tub to the outside of the cabinet.

A conventional wall-mounted washing machine has a separate knob orhandle to allow the user to open and close a door with great force.Accordingly, it is inconvenient to open and close the door, and the knobor handle may be damaged due to the repetitive load for pulling thedoor.

SUMMARY

In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the disclosure provide a wallmounted washing machine and a device for opening and closing a doorthereof in which the door opening and closing device contains anelectronic opening and closing type which facilitates opening of thedoor and also releases a door locking unit and opens the door by simplypressing a door opening button.

More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention is drawn to awashing machine comprising: a cabinet having front and rear surfaces; atub disposed in the cabinet and operable to store wash water; a frontpanel disposed in the tub; a cover disposed in the front panel andcomprising a door hinge; a door rotatably coupled to the door hinge andcomprising a door glass; and a door opening and closing device adaptedfor locking and unlocking the door and the cover, wherein the dooropening and closing device comprises: a door hanging unit disposed onthe door and protruding toward the cover; and a door locking unitdisposed on the cover and operable for selectively locking and releasingthe door hanging unit responsive to a door opening button wherein saiddoor locking unit operates electronically. Embodiments include the aboveand further comprising a control unit coupled to the door locking unitto operable to generate a control event for releasing the door hangingunit. Embodiments include the above and further comprising a circuitmodule disposed on the door and coupled with the door opening button andoperable to generate a locking release signal for the control unit.Embodiments include the above and wherein the circuit module comprises:a contact switch in contact with the door opening button; a switchcircuit adapted for generating the locking release signal for thecontrol unit depending on an ON or OFF state of the contact switch; anda cable adapted for electrically coupling the switch circuit with thecontrol unit.

Embodiments include the above and wherein the door comprises: a doorinner frame disposed toward the cover and having a plurality of boltholes and a stem through hole; and a door outer frame coupled to thedoor inner frame through bolts corresponding to the bolt holes.Embodiments include the above and wherein the circuit module isinstalled on an inner side of the door inner frame. Embodiments includethe above and, wherein the door opening button is disposed on the doorouter frame. Embodiments include the above and wherein the door openingbutton comprises: a button extending portion protruding from an innercenter button region toward an inner side of the door inner frame andconnected to the circuit module. Embodiments include the above andwherein the door locking unit comprises: a locking device casinginstalled on a rear surface of the cover, the locking device casingcomprising: a latch operable to selectively lock and unlock the doorhanging unit; a mechanism to operate the latch; and an electricalpowering device mounted thereon; a manual lever exposed outside of thelocking device casing and configured to operate the latch by manualoperation; and a string member coupled to the manual lever and extendingdownwardly from the manual lever.

Embodiments include the above and wherein the cover comprises a stringmounting portion fixed to the string member. Embodiments include theabove and wherein the door locking unit allows release of the doorhanging unit in response to a pulling action of the string member.Embodiments include the above and wherein the door opening and closingdevice further comprises: a door opening unit installed on the door withrespect to a position spaced from the door hanging unit and adapted forgenerating force to open the door.

An embodiment of the present invention is drawn to a wall mountedwashing machine comprising: a cabinet having a front surface and a rearsurface; a tub disposed in the cabinet to store wash water; a rear panelcoupled to the cabinet and operable to be mounted on a wall; a frontpanel disposed in the tub; a cover disposed on the front panel andcomprising a door hinge; a door rotatably coupled to the door hinge andhaving a door hanging unit protruding toward the cover; and a doorlocking unit adapted for releasing the door hanging unit through anoperation of a door opening button in accordance with an electronicopening and closing process. Embodiments include the above and whereinthe door locking unit comprises: a locking device casing installed on arear surface of the cover, the locking device casing comprising: a latchoperable to selectively lock and unlock the door hanging unit; amechanism to operate the latch; and an electrical powering devicemounted thereon; and a manual lever exposed outside of the lockingdevice casing and configured to operate the latch by manual operation.

Embodiments include the above and wherein the door locking unit furthercomprises a string member coupled to the manual lever and extendingdownwardly from the manual lever. Embodiments include the above andwherein the cover comprises a string mounting portion fixed to thestring member.

An embodiment of the present invention is drawn to, in a wall mountedwashing machine, which includes a cabinet having front and rearsurfaces; a cover connected to a cover connection part of the cabinetand provided with a door hinge on one side and a door locking unit onthe other side; and a door having a door hanging unit coupled to thedoor locking unit and combined with a door inner frame and a door outerframe, a door opening and closing device, said device comprising saiddoor locking unit, wherein the door locking unit is adapted forreleasing the door hanging unit through an operation of a door openingbutton and in accordance with an electronic opening and closing process.Embodiments include the above and wherein the door locking unitcomprises: a locking device casing installed on a rear surface of thecover, the locking device casing comprising: a latch operable toselectively lock and unlock the door hanging unit; a mechanism tooperate the latch; and an electrical powering device mounted thereon;and a manual lever exposed outside of the locking device casing andconfigured to operate the latch by manual operation.

Embodiments include the above and wherein the door locking unit furthercomprises a string member coupled to the manual lever and extendingdownwardly from the manual lever. Embodiments include the above andwherein the door opening button is disposed in the door outer frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent disclosure will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a wall mountedwashing machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the door of FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a door to illustrate a dooropening and closing device mounted on the door in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a cushion of the door opening unit shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a stem of the door opening unit shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the stem shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of the stem shown inFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a guide structure of the door openingunit shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an assembly state of the dooropening unit shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing an operating state of the dooropening unit shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the cover and the doorlocking unit shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 14 is a rear view of the cover shown in FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings.

In addition, in the description of the present disclosure, the detaileddescription of known functions and configurations incorporated hereinwill be omitted if they would unnecessarily obscure the features of thesubject matter of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a wall mountedwashing machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the door of FIG. 1 is opened,FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1, andFIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a wall-mounted washing machine 10 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cabinet 100having a front surface and a rear surface opened and forming an outerappearance, a door 200 disposed on one side of the cabinet 100 and foropening or closing the opened front surface of the cabinet 100, a cover300 connected to the door 200 for opening and closing the door 200, afront panel 400 disposed on the rear surface of the cover 300, adetergent container 500 housed in one side of the front panel 400 andaccommodating detergent and conditioner, a drum 600 in which laundry isstored, a tub 700 which surrounds the drum 600 and is filled with washwater, and a rear panel 800 mounted on the wall. Here, the rear surfacemeans a surface close to the wall, and the front surface means a surfaceopposite to the rear surface. Specifically, the cabinet 100 may beprovided in an empty form. Also, the cabinet 100 may include a powerbutton 102 for controlling a power supply, a cover connection unit 104connected to the cover 300, and a rear panel connection unit 106connected to the rear panel 800.

The power button 102 may be provided on one side of the cabinet 100 tocontrol whether the washing machine 10 is turned on or off. The powerbutton 102 may be provided on one side of the front surface of thecabinet 100 to be easily controlled by the user. Here, in thisembodiment, the power button 102 is provided on the lower surface of thefront surface of the cabinet 100. However, the position of the powerbutton 102 is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the left orright of the front surface of the cabinet 100, for example, or in otherwell known positions.

The cabinet 100 may include a cover connection unit 104 connected to thecover 300. The cover connection unit 104 may correspond to an edge ofthe opened front surface of the cabinet 100 and may have a smallerdiameter than the diameter of the cover 300 so that the cover 300 is notdetached from the cabinet 100. Specifically, the cover 300 may beinserted into the cabinet 100 from the rear surface to the front surfaceside. In this case, since the diameter of the cover connection unit 104is smaller than the diameter of the cover 300, the cover 300 may befitted into the cover connection unit 104, so that the cover 300 may notbe separated from the cabinet 100.

The cabinet 100 may include a rear panel connecting unit 106 connectedto the rear panel 800. The rear panel connecting unit 106 may correspondto the opened rear edge of the cabinet 100 and may have a shape thatcorresponds to the shape of the rear panel 800. The cabinet 100 may bebolted to the rear panel 800 and for this purpose, a plurality of boltfastening holes may be formed in the rear panel connecting portion 106

Meanwhile, the door 200 may be provided on the front surface of thecabinet 100. The door 200 is provided for loading and unloading laundry,and may include a door inner frame 230 and a door outer frame 240.Specifically, the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240 maybe bolted in such way to offer a predetermined space therebetween, andeach may be provided in a circular shape having a diameter correspondingto the cover connection unit 104. In this case, the door inner frame 230may be in contact with the cover connection unit 104, and the door innerframe 230 and the door outer frame 240 may completely shield the cover300 connected to the cabinet 100.

The door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240 may include a doorhinge connection unit 232 for connection with the cover 300. The doorhinge connecting unit 232 is provided at one side of the door innerframe 230 and the door outer frame 240 and may provide a space foraccommodating a door hinge 360 of the cover 300 to be described later.

A display 202 may be provided in a space between the door inner frame230 and the door outer frame 240. The display 202 is capable ofoutputting predetermined information to the user, and is provided with afront surface exposed to the outside of the door outer frame 240. Thatis, the door outer frame 240 may include a hole (not shown) or may beformed of a transparent material so that the display 202 may be viewed.In this case, the display 202 may include a touch panel capable ofinputting or outputting information, and the user may view the panel toconfirm information such as the operating state through the display 202,and also use the panel to perform operations of the wall-mounted washingmachine 10 via touch interactions. For example, the user may select aprocess such as washing and rinsing of the laundry by performing a touchinteraction with respect to the display 202, and confirm the remainingwashing time or the like through the display 202.

The display 202 exposed to the exterior of the door outer frame 240 andthe door outer frame 240 may be protected through a protective glass204. The protective glass 204 is transparently provided on the frontsurface of the door outer frame 240 so that the user may identify thedisplay 202. In this case, the protective glass 204 may be provided withthe same diameter as the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame240.

A hole (not shown) may be provided on one side of the protective glass204, and the door opening button 210 may be exposed to the outsidethrough the hole (not shown). The door opening button 210 may beprovided in the door outer frame 240 for opening or closing the interiorof the cabinet 100 using an electronic opening and closing system andmay be exposed to the outside through a hole of the protective glass204.

In addition, the door 200 may include a door opening unit 250 and a doorhanging unit 260. The door opening unit 250 and the door hanging unit260 may protrude rearward of the door inner frame 230 and may be incontact with and engaged with one side of the cover 300. Specifically,the door opening unit 250 serves as an opening/closing assistant and mayhave an elastic force. For example, the door opening unit 250 mayinclude a spring and may act as a support for opening the door 200through the elastic force of the spring. For example, when the door 200is closed, the door opening unit 250 may be compressed and inserted intoa groove (not shown) provided on one side of the cover 300. When theuser operates the door opening button 210 to open the door 200, the dooropening unit 250 may be released from one side of the cover 300, and maybe in contact with the bottom surface of the groove (not shown) providedon one side of the cover 300 in a relaxed state. That is, a space isprovided between the door 200 and the cover 300 by the relaxed length ofthe door opening unit 250, thereby preventing the door 200 from beingautomatically closed.

The door opening unit 250 may be a pusher stem assembly that may besupported by the spring and located within a guide structure formed inthe door inner frame 230 or repeatedly perform projecting by a linearmovement through a predetermined stroke range.

The door hanging unit 260 may be provided at a predetermined distancefrom the door opening unit 250 and may be provided in the shape of ahook partially protruding from the door inner frame 230. The protrudingportion of the door hanging unit 260 may be coupled to a door lock unit330 of the cover 300 to be described later, and thus the door 200 may beclosed.

In summary, the door 200 according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be opened through a door opening button 210. When theuser operates the door opening button 210, the door opening unit 250 andthe door hanging unit 260 may be released from the cover 300 so that thedoor 200 may open the cover 300. In this case, the door opening unit 250having an elastic force may be relaxed and provided on one side of thecover 300, and thus a predetermined gap is provided between the door 200and the cover 300. Therefore the door 200 may be prevented from closing.

In addition, the user may close the door 200 by applying pressure to thedoor 200 toward the cover 300 side. To this end, the user may press oneside of the outermost protective glass 204 of the door 200 so that thedoor opening unit 250 may be compressed and become received in thegroove (not shown) of the cover 300 and the protruding portion of thedoor hanging unit 260 may be coupled to the door hanging unit 330 of thecover 300. That is, the door 200 may be opened and closed without aseparate handle.

A center side of the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240may be opened and the door glass 280 may be provided at the openedcenter side. The door glass 280 allows the user to view the laundryinside the machine from the outside of the washing machine 10 and may befitted to the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240. In thiscase, the door glass 280 may be formed to protrude rearward, and theprotruded side of the door glass 280 may be fitted to the opened side ofthe cover 300.

Meanwhile, the door 200 may be rotatably connected to the cover 300. Thecover 300 is provided to enclose the front panel 400 and may include alaundry inlet 302 for loading the laundry, a detergent container loadingport 304 for loading a detergent container 500, and a power processingunit 306 for controlling the button 102.

The user may load laundry through the laundry inlet 302. The laundryinlet 302 may be provided to have a predetermined diameter. In thiscase, the diameter of the laundry inlet 302 may correspond to the sizeof the protruding portion of the door glass 280. Thus, when the door 200is closed, the door glass 280 may block the laundry inlet 302, and whenthe user opens the door 200, the door glass 280 is released from thelaundry inlet 302 to allow laundry loading through the laundry inlet302.

A detergent container loading port 304, which may load the detergentcontainer 500, may be provided on the upper side of the laundry inlet302. In this case, the detergent container loading port 304 maycorrespond to the shape of the detergent container 500.

The cover 300 may have a laundry inlet 302 at its center and may have acircular shape as a whole. Further, the cover 300 may be shaped suchthat one side protrudes downward. In this case, the power processingunit 306 may be provided in a protruding portion downward. The powerprocessing unit 306 may be a PCB substrate connected to the power button102 to control whether the power is turned on or off according to theoperation of the power button 102 protruding from the outside of thecase 100.

Meanwhile, the cover 300 may include a door hanging unit 330 located ata position corresponding to the other door hanging unit 260. The doorhanging unit 330 is coupled to the hook-shaped door hanging unit 260 andmay include a groove corresponding to the shape of the door hanging unit260. Thus, as the door hanging unit 260 is coupled to the other doorhanging unit 330, so that the door 200 may close the laundry inlet 302.

Also, the cover 300 may include a door hinge 360 at a locationcorresponding to the door hinge connection unit 232. The door hinge 360may be opened while one side of the door 200 and one side of the cover300 may be connected to each other, and the one side of the door hinge360 may be received in the door hinge connection unit 232. Specifically,the door hinge 360 may be formed in a shape of a long curved panel in avertical direction on one side of the laundry inlet 302, and may bepartially protruded forward such that the door 200 may be rotated andconnected to the door hinge connection unit 232. That is, the door 200may be rotatable along the protruding portion in front of the door hinge360.

Meanwhile, a front panel 400 may be provided on the rear surface of thecover 300. The front panel 400 may be coupled to the tub 700 and mayinclude a shield unit 410 shielding a space between the drum 600 and thetub 700, a detergent container receiving unit 420 receiving thedetergent container 500, a detergent container gasket 430 which providesa seal at a portion coupled with the detergent container 500, a fitting440 for supplying water into the detergent container 500, a door gasket450 which provides a seal at a portion in contact with the door 200, anda water supply valve assembly 480 for receiving wash water from anexternal water supplying source.

The shield unit 410 may shield a space generated between the drum 600and the tub 700 and may have a shape corresponding to the shape of thecover 300. That is, it may have the same diameter as the cover 300 andhave an opening corresponding to the laundry inlet 302 provided on thecenter side thereof. In this regard, the opening of the shield unit 410may be smaller than the diameter of the drum 600, so that the spacebetween the drum 600 and the tub 700 may be shielded.

The detergent container receiving unit 420 may be provided at one sideof the shield unit 410 to receive the detergent container 500. Thedetergent container receiving unit 420 may have a shape corresponding tothe shape of the detergent container 500 and may be in communicationwith the detergent container loading port 304 of the cover 300. That is,the detergent container 500 may be received in the detergent containerreceiving unit 420 via the detergent container loading port 304 of thecover 300.

The detergent container receiving unit 420 may include a detergentcontainer gasket 430 that is pressurized by the detergent container 500.The detergent container gasket 430 may be disposed around the end of thedetergent container receiving unit 420 to seal the detergent container500 and may be composed of a rubber material. That is, the detergent,the conditioner, and the wash water supplied to the detergent container500 are prevented from leaking to the outside through the detergentcontainer gasket 430.

At least one fitting 440 may be provided on the top of the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420. The fitting 440, which is connected to awater supply valve assembly 480 connected to an external water supplysource, may supply the wash water into the detergent container 500.Thus, the wash water supplied to the drum 600 and the tub 700 mayinclude the dissolved detergent or conditioner because the wash water issupplied into the drum 600 and the tub 700 through the detergentcontainer 500.

Meanwhile, the opening of the shield unit 410 may include a door gasket450 which is pressed by a door glass 280 of the door 200. The doorgasket 450 may be disposed at the opening end of the shield unit 410(for example, at the annular end of the opening) to hermetically fix thedoor glass 280, and it may be composed of a rubber material or the like.Thus, when the door 200 is closed, the door glass 280 penetrating thelaundry inlet 302 of the cover 300 presses the door gasket 450, andtherefore the wash water inside the drum 600 and the tub 700 will notleak outside the door 200.

The fitting 440 may be supplied with wash water through a water supplyvalve assembly 480. The water supply valve assembly 480 may be connectedto an external water supply source and may selectively supply the washwater to the detergent container 550 through the fitting 440. The watersupply valve assembly 480 may be a three-way valve and two of the supplyflow paths extending from the water supply valve assembly 480 may beconnected to the fitting 440 connected to the detergent container 500and one of them may supply the wash water to the drum 600 directlythrough the door gasket 450.

The detergent container 500 may accommodate detergent and conditionerand may include a detergent container handle 502, a detergent inputspace 504 in which detergent is loaded, and a conditioner input space506 in which a conditioner is loaded.

The detergent container handle 502 may protrude forward and may beexposed to the outside of the cover 300. The user thus may grasp thedetergent container handle 502 after opening the door 200, allowing thedetergent container 500 to be unloaded or inserted from the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420. In this embodiment, although the detergentcontainer handle 502 is extended in the vertical direction and providedat the center of the front surface of the detergent container 500, thedetergent container handle 502 is not limited thereto. For example, thedetergent container receiving unit 420 may be extended in the horizontaldirection and provided on the front surface of the detergent container500.

The detergent container 500 may be partitioned based on the center ofthe interior and include a detergent input space 504 and a conditionerinput space 506 which may contain detergent and conditioner,respectively. In this connection, the fitting 440 may be arranged tocorrespond with the detergent input space 504 and the conditioner inputspace 506, and the detergent and conditioner in the detergent inputspace 504 and the conditioner input space 506 may be supplied with thewash water. Specifically, the user may draw the detergent container 500from the detergent container receiving unit 420 after opening the door200 and may fill detergent and conditioner into the detergent inputspace 504 and the conditioner input space 506, respectively. Thedetergent container 500 filled with the detergent and the conditionermay be inserted again into the detergent container receiving unit 420,and depending on the washing process, the detergent input space 504 andthe conditioner input space 506 may be supplied with the wash water.Accordingly, the wash water including detergent or conditioner may beselectively supplied to the drum 600 and the tub 700.

Meanwhile, the front panel 400 may be connected to the drum 600. Thedrum 600 for receiving the laundry may include a drum inlet portion 610on the front surface and a spider 680 on the rear surface. In this case,a plurality of holes may be formed around the drum 600 for fluidcommunication with the tub 700.

A drum inlet portion 610 may correspond to the opened portion of theshield unit 410.

In this regard, the drum inlet portion 610 may have a diameter smallerthan the entire diameter of the drum 600, and the drum inlet portion 610may be fitted into the opened portion of the shield unit 410, so thatfront panel 400 and the drum 600 may be connected to each other. Thus,the laundry may be loaded into the drum 600 via the laundry inlet 302 ofthe cover 300 and the opened portion of the front panel 400.

The drum 600 may be rotated through a spider 680. The spider 680 mayrotate in response to a driving force from a driving motor 910 (to bedescribed later). The spider 680 may be separate from the drum 600 andalso coupled to the rear surface of the drum 600. In this case, a groovecorresponding to the shape of the spider 680 may be formed on the rearsurface of the drum 600 so that the spider 680 may be seated.

The spider 680 may include a plurality of arms extending in differentdirections with a constant gap at the center. For example, the spider680 may include an arm extending in three directions by a lengthcorresponding to the radius of the drum 600, and each arm may bedisposed at a 120-degree gap. Further, the center of the spider 680 maybe fixed to a second pulley 914 (to be described later) through a drumrotation axis 916 to be described later, and thus both the drum 600coupled to the spider 680 and the spider 680 may be rotated. A specificmethod of rotating the drum 600 will be described later.

A tub 700 in which the wash water is filled may be provided outside thedrum 600. The tub 700 may have a shape corresponding to the drum 600 andmay be formed with a diameter larger than a diameter of the drum 600 bya predetermined length. Accordingly, the tub 700 may be arranged apartfrom the drum 600 by a predetermined gap. In addition, the wash watersupplied into the tub 700 may flow into the drum 600 through a pluralityof holes formed around the drum 600. Similarly, the inner wash water ofthe drum 600 may flow into the tub 700 through the plurality of holesformed around the drum 600. In this regard, the drum 600 and the tub 700may be provided in a cylindrical shape, but of course are not limitedthereto.

Further, the tub 700 may include a heater 702 to heat the wash water.Specifically, a groove may be formed on the inner side of the tub 700 toreceive the heater 702, and a heater 702 may be provided on the innerside of the tub 700 in a detachable manner. Thus, the heater 702 mayheat the wash water filled in the tub 700.

Meanwhile, the tub 700 may be integrally provided with a rear panel 800.The rear panel 800 may be mounted on the wall and may include an anchorconnection unit 802 to which an anchor (for mounting to the wall) isconnected, a cabinet fixing unit 804 for fixing the cabinet 100, and asensor 806 for detecting the water level.

Specifically, the tub 700 and the rear panel 800 may be integrallyinjection molded, and the tub 700 may protrude from the front of therear panel 800. The rear surface of the rear panel 800 may be mounted onthe wall via a separate anchor. The anchor may be coupled to the wallthrough an anchor connection unit 802 and may be provided on the rearsurface of the rear panel 800 for stable engagement. That is, theplurality of anchors may mount the rear panel 800 on the wall. In thiscase, since the tub 700 and the rear panel 800 are integrally provided,a separate damper or an elastic member for supporting the tub 700 is notrequired.

Consequently, the number of parts may be reduced, and the size of thewashing machine 10 may be likewise reduced.

The cabinet 100 may be coupled to the front surface of the rear panel800 where the tub 700 is provided to enclose the tub 700. In this case,a cabinet fixing unit 804 may be provided to have a stepped shape alongthe periphery of the rear panel 800, and the cabinet 100 may be fixed tothe cabinet fixing unit 804. For this purpose, a fastening member suchas a bolt may be used.

Also, the rear panel 800 may include a control unit 810 for controllingthe overall functions of the wall mounted washing machine 10 and a drainunit 820 for discharging the wash water filled in the tub 700.

The control unit 810 may be provided on the front surface of the rearpanel 800 to control various components of the wall mounted washingmachine 10 depending on a user's operation to perform laundry washing.In this embodiment, while the control unit 810 is shown on the rightside of the respect to tub 700, the position of the control unit 810 isnot limited thereto.

A power supply line 904 may be connected to the external power source tosupply power to the electric equipment, the control unit 810, thedriving motor 910, and the like described above. The power supply line904 may extend through the rear panel 800 to the front of the rear panel800 and may extend outwardly from the rear of the rear panel 800. Inthis case, the power supply line 904 may be fixed to the rear surface ofthe rear panel 800 through a separate fixing means. As the power supplyline 904 is provided extending outwardly from the rear surface of therear panel 800, the washing machine 10 may have a finished or pleasingappearance.

The drain unit 820 may be provided under the rear panel 800. The drainunit 820 may discharge any wash water inside the tub 700 to the outsideand may be disposed on the lower surface of the front surface of therear panel 800. In this case, the drain unit 820 may include a drainpump for pressurizing the wash water and may be connected to the drainhose 902 to discharge the wash water. Specifically, the drain hose 902is connected to the drain unit 820 and extends outward along the rearsurface of the rear panel 800, so that the wash water may flow throughthe pressure of the drain unit 820. Thus, when the drain unit 820 isoperated after the washing cycle is completed, the wash water may bedischarged to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the drain hose 902under the pressure change of the drain unit 820.

Meanwhile, the rear panel 800 may include a driving motor 910 fortransmitting a driving force to the rear panel 800, a first pulley 912and a second pulley 914 connected to the driving motor 910, a drumrotational shaft 916 connected to the second pulley 914 to rotate thedrum 600, and a belt 918 that connects the first pulley 912 and thesecond pulley 914.

Specifically, the driving motor 910 may be provided on the front surfaceof the rear panel 800. The driving motor 910 may be controlled by thecontrol unit 810 and may be provided on one side of the control unit 810and the drain unit 820.

Also, the driving motor 910 may be connected to the first pulley 912. Inthis case, the shaft (not shown) of the driving motor 910 may beprovided through the rear panel 800 and may be connected with a shaft(not shown) of the driving motor 910 to the first pulley 912 at the rearsurface of the rear panel 800.

The first pulley 912 may be connected to the second pulley 914 via abelt 918. The second pulley 914 may be provided to surround the drumrotation shaft 916 connected to the spider 680 and the drum rotationaxis 916 may penetrate the rear panel 800 while being connected to thespider 680. That is, the second pulley 914 and the drum rotation shaft916 may be connected to each other at the rear surface of the rear panel800.

In summary, when the wash water is filled in the tub 700 through thefitting 440, the control unit 810 may operate the driving motor 910.Subsequently, the first pulley 912 connected to the driving motor 910may be rotated, and the second pulley 914 may be then rotated by therotation of the first pulley 912. Thus, the drum rotation shaft 916connected to the second pulley 914 may also rotate so that the drum 600may be rotated inside the cabinet 100 and the tub 700. Consequently, thelaundry inside the drum 600 may be washed.

On the other hand, the rear panel 800 may further include an exhaustline 920. The exhaust line 920 may be connected to the drain unit 820and may exhaust air inside the tub 700 and the drain unit 820.Specifically, the exhaust line 920 may be connected to the drain hose902 and pass through the rear panel 800, through which it may extend tothe rear surface of the rear panel 800 and be exhausted to the outside.

The wall-mounted washing machine 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be used as follows.

First, the user may open the door 200, and may load the laundry insidethe drum 600 and unload the detergent container 500 from the front panel400. In this case, the detergent container 500 is divided in the center,so that a space for loading detergent and conditioner, respectively, maybe provided.

After inserting the detergent container 500 loaded with the detergentand conditioner back into the front panel 400, the user may close thedoor 200 and control the laundry operation via the power button 102 andthe display 202. When the washing cycle is started, the wash waterprovided from an external water supplying source through the watersupply valve assembly 480 may be supplied to the detergent container 500through the fitting 440, and the wash water may be supplied into thedrum 600 and tub 700 after passing the detergent input space 504 and theconditioner input space 506. That is, the wash water filled in the drum600 and the tub 700 may optionally include detergent and conditioner.

When the tub 700 is fully filed with the wash water, the control unit810 may drive the driving motor 910. In this case, the driving motor 910may be connected to the first pulley 912 and the second pulley 914, andthe second pulley 914 may be connected to the drum 600 through the drumrotation shaft 916. Thus, the drum 600 may be rotated through thedriving motor 910. Consequently, the laundry loaded in the drum 600 maybe easily washed by the rotation of the drum 600.

When the door 200 is closed, the door 200 may rotate toward the cover300, and when the door 200 is opened, the door 200 may be reverselyrotate away from the cover 300.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a door to illustrate a dooropening and closing device mounted on the door in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 isa front view of a cushion of the door opening unit shown in FIG. 5.Further, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a stem of the door opening unitshown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the stem shown in FIG. 7.Further, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of the stemshown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a guide structureof the door opening unit shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 10, the wall mounted washing machine includes adoor opening and closing device of an electronic opening and closingtype provided on the door 200.

The door 200 includes a door inner frame 230 and a door outer frame 240configured to be separated or assembled as described above. The door 200may be an assembly in which the inner frame 230 and the door outer frame240 are contained.

The door opening and closing device is an electronic device capable ofopening the door 200. That is, even if the door opening button 210 issimply pressed by the user's finger, the locking mechanism of the door200 may be released, thereby maximizing the user's convenience. Inaddition, the door opening and closing device allows the door 200 to beopened easily and quickly.

For example, the door opening and closing device may quickly open thedoor 200 by utilizing a resultant force deriving from an elastic forceof the door opening unit 210 (including the pusher stem assembly 2520)and an elastic force of the door gasket 450 of FIG. 4, e.g., a bendingforce.

For example, the door gasket 450 has an elastic protrusion protrudingobliquely toward the door glass 280, and is bent when the door 200 isclosed to apply the elastic force (such as a bending force) to the door200 through a door glass 280.

In other words, in the unlocked state in which the door 200 may beopened, the elastic protrusion of the door gasket 450 may be restored tothe original state, and the door 200 may be pushed by an elastic forcecorresponding to the bending force. In this situation, the direction ofthe elastic force of the door gasket 450 may be the same as thedirection of the elastic force of the door opening unit 250, so that thedoor 200 may opened quickly.

The door opening and closing device may include the door opening unit250, the door locking unit 330 and the door hinge 360, as shown in FIG.4; and the door opening and closing device may further include a doorhanging unit 260, an opening button circuit module 2100 and a dooropening button 210, as shown in FIG. 5.

The door hinge 360 may be provided on one side of the cover 300 and maybe rotatably coupled to the door 200.

The door locking unit 330 may be provided on the other side of the cover300.

The door hanging unit 260 may be made of a metal material having alarger structural strength than that of the door 200, and is detachablyattached to the door 200 by a fastening means such as a bolt, forinstance.

For example, the door hanging unit 260 is mounted on the door 200. Thatis, the door hanging unit 260 may be in the form of a hook protrudingout of the door inner frame 230, or in the form of a ring protrudingfrom the door inner frame 230 toward the cover 300. As such, the doorhanging unit 260 may be a (e.g., locking) component coupled to the doorlocking unit 330 of FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 mentioned above or may be a (e.g.,unlocking) component unlocking from the door locking unit.

The door locking unit 330 may be a device capable of locking orunlocking the door hanging unit 260 using an elastic force and anelectromagnetic force.

The door locking unit 330 may unlock the door hanging unit 260 dependingon the door lock release signal from the control unit 810 or unlock thedoor hanging unit 260 by a manual lock release described below.

The door locking unit 330 is provided on the cover 300. The door lockingunit 330 may lock the door hanging unit 260 when the door locking unit330 is coupled to the door hanging unit 260.

To this end, the door locking unit 330 is connected to a control unit810 in the washing machine 10. In a detailed configuration, the doorlocking unit 330 may be an electro-mechanical locking device having alatch for locking or unlocking the door hanging unit 260 and a mechanismfor operating the latch and an electrical powering device. Here, theelectric power unit is configured to be controllable by the control unit810.

As such, the door locking unit 330 may release the locking of the doorhanging unit 260 in response to an operation control event such as adoor unlocking signal of the control unit 810 located in the cabinet100.

The door opening unit 250 is installed in the door 200 as mentionedabove. The door opening unit 250 rotates together with the door 200 tocontact the cover 300. Subsequently, the spring 2550 of the door openingunit 250 is compressed, so that an elastic force may be generated orstored in the spring 2550.

Further, the door opening unit 250 may include a guide structure 2510described below and a pusher stem assembly 2520 guided by a guidestructure 2510.

In addition, the door opening unit 250 may generate a force required toopen the door 200. For example, the door opening unit 250 is a devicethat may be stretched or contracted, e.g., that may be capable ofexpansion and contraction within a predetermined stroke range using anelastic force. In other words, the door opening unit 250 may serve as apusher for easily and rapidly opening the door 200 using an elasticforce. That is, the door opening unit 250 may reverse the door by thestored elastic force.

Moreover, the door opening unit 250 may serve as an elastic support or aspacer. That is, in an opened state of the door 200, the door openingunit 250 may maintain a space between the door 200 and the cover 300until the user applies a force (to the door 200) of a magnitude enoughto close the door 200.

To this end, the door opening unit 250 is installed on the door 200 withrespect to a position spaced apart from the door hanging unit 260.

The door inner frame 230 is arranged toward the cover 300 and has aplurality of bolt holes 231 and a stem through hole 233. The stemthrough hole 233 is formed to be passed through along a frame thicknessdirection of the door inner frame 230 with respect to a position spacedfrom the door hanging unit 260.

A protective glass 204 is coupled to the outer side of the inner frame230.

The door outer frame 240 may be a support base of the door opening unit250.

The door outer frame 240 is coupled to the door inner frame 230 througha bolt (not shown) corresponding to the bolt hole 231. For this purpose,the door outer frame 240 includes a plurality of bolt fixing parts 241spaced apart from one another along the circumferential direction fromthe inner side of the door outer frame 240 so that the bolts insertedinto the bolt holes 231 are coupled to the bolt fixing parts.

The door outer frame 240 includes a door opening button 210 disposed inthe door outer frame 240 with respect to a position that does notinterfere with the bolt fixing part 241.

The outer side of the door opening button 210 may be exposed through ahole (not shown) on one side of the protective glass 204, as mentionedabove.

The door opening button 210 includes a button extending portion 211 thatis an integral shaft member protruding from the center of the inner sidethereof toward the inner side of the door inner frame 230.

A swirling elastic body is formed between an outer edge of the dooropening button 210 and an inner edge of a button hole edge of the doorinner frame 230.

Accordingly, the user may perform a pressing operation for opening thedoor 200, such as pressing the door opening button 210 on the outside ofthe door 200 with a finger. Then, since the swirling elastic body isdeformed within the elastic range, the door opening button 210 and thebutton extending portion 211 may be advanced while the button ispressed, and may be restored (e.g., backward) to the original state whenthe finger is separated from the door opening button 210.

The door inner frame 230 includes an opening button circuit module 2100installed on the inner side of the door inner frame 230 to be in contactwith the end of the button extending portion 211.

The opening button circuit module 2100 is installed at a position, e.g.,the inner side of the door inner frame 230, spaced downwardly away fromthe stem through hole 233 of the door inner frame 230.

The opening button circuit module 2100 has a circuit housing 2110 thatmay be bolted to the inner side mounting position of the door innerframe 230. One side of the circuit housing 2110 is opened.

The opening button circuit module 2100 includes a switch circuit boardunit 2120 installed on the circuit housing 2110 through the opened oneside. Here, the opening button circuit module 2100 issues the lockingrelease signal to the control unit 810 of the washing machine 10according to the ON or OFF operations of the door opening button 210,the button extension portion 211 and a contact switch 2130. The contactswitch 2130 may be mounted on the switch circuit board unit 2120 and maybe in contact with the end of the button extending portion 211.

The opening button circuit module 2110 includes a cable 2140 forelectrically connecting the switch circuit board unit 2120 and thecontrol unit 810. Herein, the cable 2140 may be connected to the controlunit 810 via a circuit (not shown) of the display 202 mentioned above.

The door opening unit 250 will be described below in detail.

The guide structure 2510 of the door opening unit 250 serves to guidethe movement of the pusher stem assembly 2520. The guide structure 2510may be integrally formed on the inner side of the door outer frame 240.More specifically, the guide structure 2510 serves to guide the forward(e.g., stretch) or backward (e.g., collapse) of a stem 2540 of thepusher stem assembly 2520. The guide structure 2510 also serves torestrain or protect the spring 2550 so that the spring 2550 is separatedor not separated from the outside of the stem 2540.

The pusher stem assembly 2520 of the door opening unit 250 may becoupled to the guide structure 2510 and elastically supported on theinner side of the door outer frame 240. The cushion 2530 of the pusherstem assembly 2520 may be in contact with the cover 300. The stem 2540of the pusher stem assembly 2520 may be fitted into the stem throughhole 233 of the door inner frame 230.

The pusher stem assembly 2520 may be compressed upon contacting thecover 300. FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an assembly state of thedoor opening unit shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 12 is a sectional viewshowing an operating state of the door opening unit shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the pusher stem assembly 2520 may be supported andguided within a guide structure 2510 as the door 200 is closed, and mayact on the cover 300 with an elastic force stored in accordance with thecompression of the spring 2550.

Conversely, the pusher stem assembly 2520 may extend toward the cover300 through the stem through hole 233, as shown in FIG. 12, as the door200 is opened. The pusher stem assembly 250 is supported and guided bythe guide structure 2510 and acts on the cover 300 with a stored elasticforce.

The cover 300 is a fixed component of the washing machine 10 supportedon the wall. Meanwhile, the door 200 is a rotatable component in thedoor hinge 360 of the cover 300.

Therefore, the pusher stem assembly 2520 may be moved along with thedoor 200 along the door opening direction, as indicated by an arrow “F”,due to a reaction (for example, an elastic repulsive force) of anelastic force as the spring 2550 is relaxed or elongated, as shown inFIG. 12, in a state in which the door 200 is opened due to the lockingrelease between the door hanging unit 260 and the door locking unit 330.

The pusher stem assembly 2520 includes a cushion 2530 that contacts thecover 300 in response to the rotation of the door 200. The pusher stemassembly 2520 includes a spring 2550 inserted into the stem 2540 andeither compressed or relaxed along the longitudinal direction of thestem 2540.

Referring to FIG. 6, the cushion 2530 serves to attenuate and reduce anyimpact and any noise upon contacting the cover 300 to increase theoperating quality of the washing machine 10.

For this purpose, the cushion 2530 is formed of at least one materialselected from a group consisting of a natural rubber material, asynthetic rubber material, a urethane material, a silicone material, anda synthetic resin material having an elastic force.

In addition, the cushion 2530 has a hemispherical contact portion 2531that contacts the cover 300 to absorb any impact and has a bulged frontsurface. Although the contact portion 2531 has a shape in which ahemispherical portion is bulged in a disk-shaped body, the shape may notbe limited to such a specific shape because it may be variously deformedfor the purpose of absorbing impact or reducing noise.

In addition, the cushion 2530 has a cushion extension shaft portion 2532protruding from the center of the rear surface of the contact portionand having a smaller diameter than the contact portion 2531.

Further, the cushion 2530 includes a cushion fixing part 2533 which isintegrally formed at the end of the cushion extension shaft portion 2532with respect to the position opposite to the contact portion 2531 and isfixed by hanging at the edge of the installation hole 2541 of the stem2540 of FIG. 7.

Here, the cushion fixing part 2533 has a wedge section shape. Theinstallation hole 2541 also has a dish hole shape corresponding to awedge inclined surface of the cushion fixing part 2533. Also, the outercircumferential surface of the cushion fixing part 2533 is formed with aplurality of gap portions 2534 spaced apart from one another along thecircumferential direction of the cushion fixing part 2533.

Thus, when the cushion 2530 is coupled to the stem 2540, the cushionfixing part 2533 may easily be passed through and fixed to theinstallation hole 2541 of the stem 2540.

The cushion 2530 is installed in a hollow stem 2540, for example, in acushion inserting part 2542 of the stem 2540.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, the stem 2540 includes the cushion insertingpart 2542 formed on one side of the stem 2540 with respect to theinstallation hole 2541. Here, the cushion inserting part 2542 has aplurality of supporting protrusions 2543 for supporting the cushion2530.

The spaces between the supporting protrusions 2543 allow the weight ofthe pusher stem assembly 2520 to be lightened while maximizing impactdamping and noise reduction efficiency as a means for allowing thedeformation of the cushion 2530.

In addition, the stem 2540 includes a hollow spring inserting part 2544which extends integrally along the longitudinal direction of the stem2540 from the cushion inserting part 2542 and is disposed on the otherside of the stem 2540 with respect to the installation hole 2541. Thespring 2550 of FIG. 5 is inserted into the inner space of the springinserting part 2544.

The spring 2550 contacts the edge portion of the installation hole 2541in the stem 2540. In addition, the end of the spring 2550 projectsoutward from the stem 2540 and is supported in the spring supportingpart 2511 of the guide structure 2510, as will be described below. As aresult, the spring 2550 elastically supports the stem 2540 while beingcompressed or relaxed.

In addition, the stem 2540 includes a plurality of hanging protrusions2545 protruding along a radial direction from the outer circumferentialsurface of the spring inserting part 2544 in a mutually opposing manner.

The hanging protrusions 2545 have a wedge cross-sectional shape inclinedwith respect to the direction of fastening to the guide body 2512 of theguide structure 2510. The wedge shape of the hanging protrusions 2545allows the stem 2540 to be easily inserted and engaged in the guide body2512.

Referring to FIG. 10, the guide structure 2510 is formed on the innerside of the door outer frame 240 to coincide with the center line of thestem through hole 233, and includes a spring supporting part 2511supporting the end of the spring 2550 as shown in FIG. 11. Here, thespring supporting part 2511 is formed on the inner side of the doorouter frame 240. The spring supporting part 2511 serves as a mountingposition of the spring 2550 and transmits the elastic force of thespring 2550 to the door 200.

In addition, the guide structure 2510 is formed on the inner side of thedoor outer frame 240 with respect to the outer position of the springsupporting part 2511 and includes a hollow guide body 2512 into whichthe stem 2540 is inserted.

In addition, the guide structure 2510 includes guide slits 2513 coupledto the hanging protrusions 2545 of the stem 2540, respectively, andformed on a wall of the guide body 2512 to guide a movement of the stem2540.

In addition, the guide structure 2510 includes stoppers 2514 formedbetween the guide slits 2513 and the end of the guide body 2512.

The stem 2540 may be moved or stopped within the stroke range allowed inthe guide structure 2510 by the guide slits 2513, the stoppers 2514 andthe hanging protrusions 2545.

In addition, the guide structure 2510 includes a plurality of slidingprotrusions 2515 spaced along the circumferential direction from theinner circumferential surface of the guide body 2512 and extending inthe longitudinal direction of the guide body 2512.

The sliding protrusions 2515 reduce frictional force from the movementof the stem 2540, thereby smoothly inducing the operation of the stem2540. That is, the sliding protrusions 2515 may minimize the contactarea between the guide body 2512 and the stem 2540. As a result, thestem 2540 may not be easily fixed within the guide body 2512 by sliding,and any malfunction of the stem 2540 may be minimized.

Hereinafter, an operation method of the door opening and closing deviceof the wall-mounted washing machine according to the disclosure will bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 2, the user rotates the door 200 shown in FIG. 2 tothe state shown in FIG. 1 to close the door 200. During the rotation,the door 200 approaches the cover 300 and the door hanging unit 260 ofthe door 200 is engaged and locked to the door locking unit 330 so thatthe door 200 is closed.

At this time, referring to FIG. 11, the pusher stem assembly 2520 ismoved along with the door 200 and the cushion 2530 of the pusher stemassembly 2520 may be brought into contact with the cover 300. The stem2540 of the pusher stem assembly 2520 is retracted as the door 200 iscontinually rotated, that is, the user further presses the door 200 andcloses toward the cover 300, and the spring 2550 is compressed by thebackward movement of the stem 2540 so that the door is closed.

In operation, the user presses the door opening button 210 shown in FIG.1.

Then, the locking state of the door locking unit 330 to the door hangingunit 260 of the door 200 shown in FIG. 2 is released.

At this time, as the door opening unit 250 is relaxed, the length of thespring 2550 of the door opening unit 250 is extended.

Further, the cover 300 and the components of the washing machine 10coupled thereto are fixed to the wall, so that they do not move despitethe extension of the spring 2550.

Instead, the elastic force of the spring 2550 is transmitted to thecover 300 through the stem 2540 and the cushion 2530. In addition, theelastic repulsive force (e.g., pushing force) corresponding to theelastic force is transmitted to the door 200 through the guide structure2510, and as a result, the door 200 is reverse-rotated in the openeddirection.

That is, the guide structure 2510 and the pusher stem assembly 2520,which are the door opening unit 250 of the door 200, are moved alongwith the door 200, as indicated by an arrow “F”, due to the reaction ofthe elastic force when the spring 2550 is relaxed or stretched and thusthe door is opened as shown in FIG. 12.

Hereinafter, a manual locking release of the door opening and closingdevice will be described.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the cover and the doorlocking unit shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 14 is a rear view of the covershown in FIG. 13.

Referring to FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, the door locking unit 330 includes alocking device casing 337, a manual lever 333, and a string member 335.

The string member 335 plays a role of pulling the manual lever 333.

The manual lever 333 operates on a leverage principle and rotates theinner latch (not shown) of the locking device casing 337 by the stringmember 335 so that the door hanging unit 260 shown in FIG. 2 may bemanually detached or unlocked form the door locking unit 330.

The cover 300 includes a string mounting portion 309 for fixing thestring member 335 of the door locking unit 330. Here, the stringmounting portion 309 protrudes from the lower edge of the cover 300 inthe outward direction of the cover 300.

The string mounting portion 309 may be a means for holding the stringmembers 335 together or ridgidly fixing the end of the string members335, or may be a support base for tightly holding the string members335.

For example, the string mounting portion 309 may be formed integrallywith the lower edge of the cover 300, and may be formed of any one of ahook unit, a ring unit, and a string fitting unit for fixing the end ofthe string member 335.

The cover 300 includes a hanging part insertion hole 307 formed in thethickness direction of the cover in order to pass the protruding portionof the door hanging unit 260 from the door 200 toward the cover 300, asmentioned above. Here, the hanging part insertion hole 307 may be shapedin the form of a rectangular hole having a round corner portion.

In addition, the cover 300 includes bolt fastening mounting holes 308formed in the cover 300 around the hanging part inserting hole 307. Thedoor locking unit 330 may be screwed into the bolt of the bolt fasteningmounting holes 308 and tightly attached and fixed to the rear surface ofthe cover 300.

In addition, the string member 335 may transmit tension to the manuallever 333, such as a string, a line, a wire of flexible material, or thelike. Particularly, since the string member 335 is a flexible material,it advantageously does not transmit vibrations well and also noise dueto friction contact is not generated.

The locking device casing 337 is mounted on the rear surface, e.g., theback surface, of the cover 300 and includes a latch capable of lockingor unlocking the door hanging unit 260, a mechanism for operating thelatch and an electrical powering device. Herein, the latch operatingmechanism is connected to a lever connection member (not shown)extending from the manual lever 333 to the inside of the locking devicecasing 337 to receive the operating force from the manual lever 333.

The manual lever 333 is exposed to the outside of the locking devicecasing 337 and serves to operate the latch by manual operation thereof.

The upper end of the string member 335 is installed or coupled to themanual lever 333.

That is, the string member 335 is connected to the manual lever 333 andextends downwardly from the manual lever 333. For example, the upper endof the string member 335 may be assembled when making the injection ofthe manual lever 333, or may be connected by a method of bundling aftermanufacture of the manual lever 333, or via a method of connecting usinga fixed clip or the like.

In addition, the string member 335 may further include a ring portion336 which is formed on the lower end thereof and is fixed or detachablycoupled to the string mounting portion 309 to facilitate coupling orfixing between the string member 335 and the string mounting portion 309of the cover 300.

The door locking unit 330 includes a hanging part inputting port 331formed in the locking device casing 337 with respect to a positioncorresponding to the hanging part inserting hole 307 of the cover 300.The hanging part inlet port 331 may also be a rectangular hole having around corner portion so that it may be matched to the hanging partinserting hole 307.

The locking device casing 337 of the door locking unit 330 may beintegrally formed with a plurality of bolt fixing parts 332 for fixingthe bolts passing through the bolt fastening mounting holes 308.

In addition, the door locking unit 330 further includes a socket portion334 for an electrical connection with a connector (not shown) of a wireextending from the control unit 810. The socket portion 334 is disposedat the bottom of the locking device casing 337 and has a socket holethat is opened in the width direction of the locking device casing 337.

If the washing machine 10 becomes inoperable due to a power outage or afailure during use, a user or an operator disassembles the cabinet 100from the washing machine 10.

In this case, the string member 335 may be exposed in the lateraldirection of the cover 300 and the front panel 400 of FIG. 4. Theoperator or user releases the lock of the door locking unit 330 manuallyby pulling the string member 335 down and, as a result, the door hangingunit 260 is detached from the door locking unit 330, and it is possibleto manually open the main body 200.

As described above, in a wall mounted washing machine and a door openingand closing device thereof according to the embodiments of thedisclosure, a separate handle for opening and closing the door may beadvantageously removed.

In addition, because the locking release of the door locking unit anddoor opening operations may be easily performed using only the operationof a door opening button, user convenience may be advantageouslyincreased.

Further, there is an advantage that the door may be easily opened withan electronic opening and closing type.

Further, there is an advantage that the door may be opened and closed bythe door opening unit protruding from the locking release of the door.

In addition, there is an advantage that the door may be opened quicklyby utilizing a resultant force of an elastic force of the door openingunit and an elastic force of a door gasket.

Further, there is an advantage that the door may be opened by manuallyreleasing a lock of the door locking unit in situations when the poweror the control unit fails.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea ofthe present disclosure and various changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the essential characteristics of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the embodiments described in the presentdisclosure are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure, but are intended to illustrate and not limit the scope ofthe present disclosure. The scope of protection of the presentdisclosure should be construed according to the following claims, andall technical ideas which are equivalent or equivalent thereto should beinterpreted as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet havingfront and rear surfaces; a tub disposed in the cabinet and operable tostore wash water; a front panel disposed in the tub; a cover disposed inthe front panel and comprising a door hinge; a door rotatably coupled tothe door hinge and comprising a door glass; and a door opening andclosing device adapted for locking and unlocking the door and the cover,wherein the door opening and closing device comprises: a door hangingunit disposed on the door and protruding toward the cover; and a doorlocking unit disposed on the cover and operable for selectively lockingand releasing the door hanging unit responsive to a door opening buttonwherein said door locking unit operates electronically.
 2. The washingmachine according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit coupledto the door locking unit to operable to generate a control event forreleasing the door hanging unit.
 3. The washing machine according toclaim 2, further comprising a circuit module disposed on the door andcoupled with the door opening button and operable to generate a lockingrelease signal for the control unit.
 4. The washing machine according toclaim 3, wherein the circuit module comprises: a contact switch incontact with the door opening button; a switch circuit adapted forgenerating the locking release signal for the control unit depending onan ON or OFF state of the contact switch; and a cable adapted forelectrically coupling the switch circuit with the control unit.
 5. Thewashing machine according to claim 3, wherein the door comprises: a doorinner frame disposed toward the cover and having a plurality of boltholes and a stem through hole; and a door outer frame coupled to thedoor inner frame through bolts corresponding to the bolt holes.
 6. Thewashing machine according to claim 5, wherein the circuit module isinstalled on an inner side of the door inner frame.
 7. The washingmachine according to claim 5, wherein the door opening button isdisposed on the door outer frame.
 8. The washing machine according toclaim 7, wherein the door opening button comprises: a button extendingportion protruding from an inner center button region toward an innerside of the door inner frame and connected to the circuit module.
 9. Thewashing machine according to claim 1, wherein the door locking unitcomprises: a locking device casing installed on a rear surface of thecover, the locking device casing comprising: a latch operable toselectively lock and unlock the door hanging unit; a mechanism tooperate the latch; and an electrical powering device mounted thereon; amanual lever exposed outside of the locking device casing and configuredto operate the latch by manual operation; and a string member coupled tothe manual lever and extending downwardly from the manual lever.
 10. Thewashing machine according to claim 9, wherein the cover comprises astring mounting portion fixed to the string member.
 11. The washingmachine according to claim 9, wherein the door locking unit allowsrelease of the door hanging unit in response to a pulling action of thestring member.
 12. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein thedoor opening and closing device further comprises: a door opening unitinstalled on the door with respect to a position spaced from the doorhanging unit and adapted for generating force to open the door.
 13. Awall mounted washing machine comprising: a cabinet having a frontsurface and a rear surface; a tub disposed in the cabinet to store washwater; a rear panel coupled to the cabinet and operable to be mounted ona wall; a front panel disposed in the tub; a cover disposed on the frontpanel and comprising a door hinge; a door rotatably coupled to the doorhinge and having a door hanging unit protruding toward the cover; and adoor locking unit adapted for releasing the door hanging unit through anoperation of a door opening button in accordance with an electronicopening and closing process.
 14. The wall mounted washing machineaccording to claim 13, wherein the door locking unit comprises: alocking device casing installed on a rear surface of the cover, thelocking device casing comprising: a latch operable to selectively lockand unlock the door hanging unit; a mechanism to operate the latch; andan electrical powering device mounted thereon; and a manual leverexposed outside of the locking device casing and configured to operatethe latch by manual operation.
 15. The wall mounted washing machineaccording to claim 14, wherein the door locking unit further comprises astring member coupled to the manual lever and extending downwardly fromthe manual lever.
 16. The wall mounted washing machine according toclaim 15, wherein the cover comprises a string mounting portion fixed tothe string member.
 17. In a wall mounted washing machine, which includesa cabinet having front and rear surfaces; a cover connected to a coverconnection part of the cabinet and provided with a door hinge on oneside and a door locking unit on the other side; and a door having a doorhanging unit coupled to the door locking unit and combined with a doorinner frame and a door outer frame, a door opening and closing device,said device comprising said door locking unit, wherein the door lockingunit is adapted for releasing the door hanging unit through an operationof a door opening button and in accordance with an electronic openingand closing process.
 18. The door opening and closing device accordingto claim 17, wherein the door locking unit comprises: a locking devicecasing installed on a rear surface of the cover, the locking devicecasing comprising: a latch operable to selectively lock and unlock thedoor hanging unit; a mechanism to operate the latch; and an electricalpowering device mounted thereon; and a manual lever exposed outside ofthe locking device casing and configured to operate the latch by manualoperation.
 19. The door opening and closing device according to claim18, wherein the door locking unit further comprises a string membercoupled to the manual lever and extending downwardly from the manuallever.
 20. The door opening and closing device according to claim 18,wherein the door opening button is disposed in the door outer frame.